PawPaw’s Vinyl of the Week – Powerage by AC/DC

Posted on September 27, 2020 by Just Chuck

This weeks Vinyl of the Week is an album I picked up in a store I don’t remember in San Antonio. AC/DC’s Powerage started my lifelong affection for AC/DC and also my small claim to fame in that I could sing like Bon Scott. So my post high school band did a lot of AC/DC songs. AC/DC released Powerage in May 1978. It was their 5th studio album and my first from AC/DC.

In the summer of 1978 I was working at a place called Mo-Ranch in the Texas Hill country near Hunt Texas. Hunt Texas is about an hour to hour and half west of San Antonio. Mo-Ranch was/is a church retreat for the Presbyterian Church and my best friend and I got jobs through his church in Killeen. We worked there two summers in a row, 1978 and 1979.

Mo-Ranch Yurt

To us the first summer was a summer where we became self sufficient, and for me it was a great preparation for going off to college on my own. We were part of the staff and were required to work our jobs Monday-Friday. I was a housekeeper so I was cleaning toilets and making beds and occasionally doing laundry.

We were a group of 6 guys and 6 girls age 16-18 with minimum supervision. We lived (separately of course) in a screened in structure called a Yurt. I don’t believe they have them there anymore. Many an illegal party was held in the Yurts. We were not allowed to drink alcohol (being underage and a church ranch) and I almost got sent home for showing up to breakfast one morning with a debilitating hangover. We tried to say I was sick but the adults who ran the ranch knew. I was given a second chance. I learned my lesson then and drank in moderation the rest of the summer. They allowed me to return the following summer so I guess I hid my partying pretty well after that.

So anyways, back to the album. I bought the album on a trip into San Antonio on my day off. I borrowed another staff members Suburu Brat and me and another staffer drove into San Antonio for the day. One thing to note, the Brat was a stick shift and I had never driven a stick shift with a clutch. I lied to the guy. So it was a quick learning experience just so I could get off the ranch and into civilization. I don’t think I stripped his gears too bad and only stalled a couple of times. After stopping at a record store and picking up Powerage, cause the cover looked cool, we proceeded to fill the back of the Brat (it was a mini-truck) with cases of beer. We covered the beer with a tarp and snuck it all back onto the ranch and unloaded into our Yurt.

I listened to this album a lot that summer. We had a staff break room where we could take our lunch breaks and hang out or gather after work and listen to music on the stereo or read books. I read the whole Conan the Barbarian book series that summer.

So for being one of many albums that became a soundtrack for the summer of 1978, Powerage by AC/DC is PawPaw’s Vinyl of the Week.

Posted in Album of the month | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A journey starts with commitment

Posted on September 27, 2020 by Just Chuck

I’ve started a journey today, a weight loss journey, fueled by a health program recommended by my health insurance provider. This will be my fourth (yes fourth) time to attempt weight loss. The other three times were successful weight loss journeys, just not keeping it off. Hopefully the 4th time is the charm. Cause I’m getting too old to care anymore.

I decided to apply for this program and I got accepted based on my physical condition. I’m 70 lbs overweight (at least), I have high blood pressure and my lab work lately has been hinting at diabetes. Additionally I feel tired a lot. I can’t go up the flight of stairs at home without getting a little breathless. Don’t get me wrong, I’m obese by today’s health standards but I can still walk and ride bikes. I’m still able to participate in physical activities in a somewhat diminished capacity. And if I lost some lbs so my knees wouldn’t hurt, I could run again.

October 26, 2006. Skinny 190 lbs

The program is called Omada. And today is the first day of the program. I have a coach, I’m part of a group of around 30 people all wanting to get healthy. Most of the folks are around my age (soon to be 59), some a bit older. We have online lessons once a week going over nutrition, exercise, etc. I got a free weight scale that sends my weight to an app on my phone. I track my meals and physical activities. I’m going to make the best of this and get healthy again.

Before After 1st weight loss

I’ve done weight loss 3 other times. The first and most successful was Weight Watchers point counting around 2006. I would meticulous count my points and enter them online (this was before the iPhone and apps). I ended up losing 90 lbs. I got down to around 190 lbs from 280 lbs. Quite an accomplishment and I was just one waist size larger than when I graduated high school. I was healthy. I joined Tae Kwon Do. I bought a motorcycle. Things were good. Then I let peer pressure break me down. I started eating junk food again, like Taco Bell, and telling myself what could it hurt. I know how to lose weight I can do it anytime I need to. I was wrong. Peer pressure – everyone else around me was able to eat what they wanted and not gain weight. It was frustrating.

The second time was with Jenny Craig around 2010. I’d jumped back up to 265 lbs. This time I got down to 210-215 and stopped. Jenny Craig was expensive. You had to eat their food which was costing me about $130 per week, sometimes more. So I stopped and preceded to balloon back up to 265-270 again.

June 2017, last time skinny

The third time was just recently, 2017. Myself and three buddies at work made a bet who could lose the most. Everyone put in $50 and the winner took it all. Once again I focused and became a food hermit, not eating out, eating the same thing over and over cause I knew the calorie count, I used (and still do) an app called LoseIt! I went from 270 lbs to 215 lbs and won $150. That was just two years ago and I am back up to 270 lbs.

So here we go again. Determined to make it stick this time. I’ll be tracking my progress her and possibly on YouTube. Suffice to say, this morning weigh in was 270 lbs.

Wish me luck.

Posted in Life in General | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

PawPaw’s Bike Riding Adventure #1

Posted on September 26, 2020 by Just Chuck

I went on my first extended bike ride today with my sister-in-law and her husband. Only my second time on the bike I bought in mid-August. I don’t think I’ve ever rode more that a mile on a bike… ever. Not even as a kid. Today we did 4.9 miles. So this is my first real bike riding adventure (not around the neighborhood block). I mounted my GoPro on my bike and recorded the ride. The sound was not the best for some unknown reason, there is a static sound, but it captured about 39 minutes of the 45 minute ride before the battery died. I hope to post some of this video on YouTube soon.

Runkeeper App

I used Runkeeper to track our progress. I’ve been using the app for years to capture my walking and running so this was first time to use with a bike. It worked very well. Unfortunately we were already .4 miles into the ride when I remembered to turn it on, but from the picture you can see I captured 4.5 miles plus the .4 not captured equals 4.9 miles.

This riding spot is in Garland TX. The start is by the Garland Gun Range so if you live in the area, you’ll know where that is or can find it. It’s off of Pleasant Valley Road. It’s completely paved and great for beginners. There is a lots of long straight aways and only one small hill climb on the way back to the start. Not the most scenic ride though.

I was able to complete the almost 5 miles with only some minor soreness. Even now nine hours later I still feel ok. This is comforting to know because I have a bad right hip with severe arthritis and its not hurting.

I enjoyed the ride enough to go onto Amazon tonight and purchase a few things to improve my riding comfort for the next time. I purchased

So there you go. My stuff arrives this Thursday and perhaps we will plan another bike outing to a different area. I want to take my Grandson out to a local park and get him off his training wheels. Perhaps this weekend.

Posted in exercise | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

PawPaw’s Vinyl of the Week – Ted Nugent by Ted Nugent

Posted on September 20, 2020 by Just Chuck

I remember exactly where I was when I bought this album. Plus five of the nine songs on it remind me of my best buddy Dennis, today would’ve been his 59th birthday, but more on that later.

Ted Nugent (by Ted Nugent) was Ted’s first album under his own name and it put him on the rock radar with guitarist everywhere. Released in September 1975, I can distinctively remember seeing this album and Thin Lizzy’s Jailbreak (March 1976) at the same time in the Post Exchange (PX) of Ft. Buchanan Puerto Rico. So I’m guessing sometime around May 1976 I saw these in the record bins. We would leave Puerto Rico in July 1976 for Texas.

I compared the two albums, because I only had enough money for one, and decided to get Ted’s freshman effort. I was an aspirating guitarist and I though the cover was cool. I would pick up Jailbreak eventually in Texas. I’d only read about Ted (and Thin Lizzy) in CREEM magazine. There was no internet or MTv. We found out about artist through CREEM magazine.

My first impression of the album – the first side was killer with Stranglehold, Stormtroopin, Hey Baby and Just What the Doctor Ordered are all classics ti this day. Side two starts with Snakeskin Cowboys and then kinda peters out with a rarely heard Queen of the Forest. So I feel I made a good decision picking Ted over Thin Lizzy. But Jailbreak is just as phenomenal as well and will be a vinyl of the week soon.

So back to Dennis. Dennis passed away in July 2019. He was a Ted Nugent fanatic and a superb guitar player. Dennis could play five of the songs on this album note for note. He was known for his note for note live rendition of Stranglehold. From the first time we ever played it in our band Second Chance to his last gig with a band called Rockenstein, he was mesmerizing when he played it. I have played the rhythm guitarist to his lead on all of these Nugent tunes (and more) at one time or another since he first taught them to me in 11th grade. Happy Birthday Dennis, I miss you.

So many memories from this one album. So many great songs. This is what great music is and I wish there was more of it today. For all the memories with Dennis and playing these songs, Ted Nugent by Ted Nugent is PawPaw’s Vinyl of the Week.

Posted in Album of the month | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

PawPaw’s Vinyl of the Week – Wind and Wuthering by Genesis

Posted on September 13, 2020 by Just Chuck

Why Genesis’ Wind and Wuthering?

Genesis released this album December 17, 1976 and I cannot remember how I ended up buying and listening to this album. But I can say that the Genesis’ Wind and Wuthering tour of 1977 was my FIRST EVER CONCERT.

As a 15 year old I had never attended any kind of rock concert and so this was my first foyer into a music unknown. On March 21, 1977 my best friend and I got dropped off at the Austin Auditorium in Austin Texas.

Outside the auditorium I bought a bootleg black t-shirt with Genesis spray painted in silver on it. I wish I still had it. I had no idea there would be merchandise inside. I bought a tour program that i still have.

We had upper balcony seats but that didn’t matter. When the lights lowered and Genesis kicked into the song Squonk I was mesmerized. The sound was loud and engulfing, the lights were flowing and my senses were bombarded. So this is what a rock concert is like. It was surreal. I like this!

In addition to the concert it was also my first exposure to pot smoking. It was being smoked everywhere. I was on a row where the guy on the end would light up a joint, take a drag and pass it to his left, and it would make its way down the row. Having no idea how or what to do with it, I passed it on. But you couldn’t help but take in the smoke, it was everywhere. At that time our parents had no idea what pot smelled like on your clothes so we didn’t get hassled when my best friend’s parents picked us up after the event.

So for popping my concert cherry and introducing me to the world of rock concerts and all the “stuff” that goes with it – Wind and Wuthering by Genesis, you are PawPaw’s Vinyl of the week.

Posted in Album of the month | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Adventures with PawPaw Vol 1 Issue 2 now available

Posted on September 11, 2020 by Just Chuck
Posted in Product | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Camping was a bust

Posted on September 7, 2020 by Just Chuck

We went camping this past Labor Day weekend. I took Friday off and we headed out that afternoon to a local Lake 40 minutes away. It turned out to be not one of my better ideas.

Oh it started out great. The weeks building up to the camp out were spent buying stuff we needed from Amazon and Walmart. Pretty much everything you see in the pictures accompanying this article are brand new except the ice chest. I swear.

Excitement grew as I looked forward to using all the cool stuff we had bought, including a portable 300W solar generator I was going to use to power our two new box fans at night.

So what went wrong?

Ozark Trail Tent and Canopy

Mistake #1 – Thinking we could overcome the Texas sun and the humidity during early September. You’d think after 35 years in this area I’d know that camping during the months of July, August and September does not work in Texas.

It was 90 degrees on Friday afternoon with humidity in the upper 70% while my son and I labored to put up the “16 person” tent plus the 13×13 foot canopy, and then lay out all the camping paraphernalia. It was torturous heat and I had to take a number of breaks due to various physical ailments. At one point I queried my son whether he knew the fundamentals of CPR. I could not have done this by myself and barely did it with my sons help.

Ozark Trails 16 person tent

In reality the “16 person” tent fits 3 queen size cots with blow up mattresses with extra room to spare. It’s huge, which was Mistake #2. We should’ve brought smaller tents. This was overkill.

Once the tent and canopy were up, we ate sandwiches for dinner and enjoyed a a nice breeze while the sun went down. My son took our grandson to try his hand at fishing and we were lured into a false sense of accomplishment with this camping thing.

toilet lid on Home Depot 5 gallon bucket

There was a nice breeze into the evening and we decided to call it a night around 10:00 pm. That’s when we experienced what can only be called Hell’s Tent Oven. The breeze we were enjoying out side the tent did not transfer into the tent. Even with every window opening fully unzipped there was nothing but stagnant, hot, humid air. The box fans that I thought were going to run all night on the portable generator were only going to do about 2 hours. Mistake #3 was buying a small 300W generator before realizing the box fans wattage was going to suck it dry in less time than it would take to fall asleep.

So there we lay, our bodies sweating and not in a good way. About 3 hours into tossing and turning I succumbed to sleep due to exhaustion but was awoke at 4:00 am due sounds and bodily function needs. Trying to get back to sleep after my piss was hampered by a goose (yes a goose on the lake) who thought it would be cute to honk throughout the night. Once again I succumbed to exhaustion only to awake to the cry of a baby (yes a baby) from the tent next to us. I don’t blame him for crying, the heat was stifling. And the goose was still there. I fell asleep (but not soundly) for a couple more hours.

As we gathered that morning, no one would say it but we were all thinking it. There is no way we wanted to try and sleep another night in Hell’s Tent Oven. Finally, I spoke and said let’s cook breakfast, cause I at least wanted to break in my new Coleman stove and griddle, hang about a bit, then cook burgers and hot dogs on the Coleman stove for lunch and then get the hell out of this heat.

So that’s what we did. Then we spent a good two hours packing shit up in the 90 degree sweltering heat and humidity. It was a repeat of the set up. I had to stop and sit many times due to physical issues with the heat. All in all from leaving the house to getting back to the house was 24 hours. I felt sweaty and gross so when we got home we hit the swimming pool hard. Turns out we also saved ourselves from dealing with a severe thunderstorm that moved through the camp site an hour after we left, drenching the whole area.

That night I went to bed 2 hours earlier than normal in my nice comfy bed with the A/C set at 76 and the ceiling fan on medium. Ahhhhh.

So what did we learn? No matter how manly you think you are, don’t tent camp in Texas during July, August and September. It’s brutal and unforgiving. This 24 hour endurance exercise reinforced our plans to purchase a travel trailer.

Posted in camping | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

PawPaw’s Vinyl of the Week – Rickie Lee Jones

Posted on September 6, 2020 by Just Chuck

I originally bought the album Rickie Lee Jones (released February 28, 1979) for the song Chuck E.’s in Love and then fell for the whole album. I listened to this album so much I can still sing it word for word from start to finish. I still have the vinyl album. It was a strange purchase for someone who was into Judas Priest, KISS and Led Zeppelin but having your name in the song title persuaded me. But was I mellowing?

No, my musical taste were expanding. These days if a song catches my ear it doesn’t matter whether it is rap, country or Ska, I’ll listen to it and purchase the album to support the artist.

After her initial album Rickie Lee put out a second album called Pirates, an EP and then The Magazine which I bought. I am a Rickie Lee Jones fan.

Because I can still listen to this album and enjoy it and sing along to very song from start to finish, Rickie Lee Jones you are PawPaw’s Vinyl of the Week!

Posted in Album of the month | Tagged , | Leave a comment

MeTube is Active

Posted on September 2, 2020 by Just Chuck

To go along with this blog I’ve started a YouTube channel. My first video launched late last night, early this morning. Check out the Adventure.

Posted in family | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

PawPaw’s Vinyl of the Week – Dressed to Kill by KISS

Posted on August 31, 2020 by Just Chuck

Oh yeah, this album was the gateway to all things KISS for me. Dressed to Kill was KISS’ third album released on March 18, 1975. Prior to this album they had put out two albums in 1974, KISS and Hotter Than Hell. Both not doing that great.

I was living in Puerto Rico at the time and we were months, if not a year, behind what was going on in the mainland. So I was lucky enough to have a subscription to Creem magazine at the time when they featured KISS (first ever) in an article. The article I Dreamed I Was Onstage with KISS in my Maideform Bra by Jaan Uhelszki, August 1975, was the catalyst that started a lifelong love of the band.

Prior to hearing that album, I was listening to Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Grand Funk Railroad. But Dressed to Kill and KISS as a whole, in its simplicity, captured my teenage urges in 3 minute proclamations full of sexual innuendos and overtly obvious demands for sex. Songs like Room Service, Ladies in Waiting, C’mon and Love Me and She all dealt with sex, hookers and more sex. What’s not to like.

Of course the album also included Rock and Roll All Nite but that wouldn’t become the huge hit until it was immortalized on KISS Alive! released just 6 months later in a last gasp to save the band and the Casablanca Record Label.

So because you have had such an influence on my life since that day I bought you in a department store (I forget the name) in Puerto Rico in 1975, Dressed to Kill – you are this weeks PawPaw’s Vinyl of the Week!

Posted in Album of the month | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment